One Rank One Pension: Why the talks were inconclusive?

New Delhi, Aug 28: There seems to be no solution as yet in sight on the One Rank One Pension issue. With the veterans of the armed forces deciding to boycott the government's celebrations marking the 50th anniversary celebrations of India's 50th anniversary of India's 1965 war with Pakistan, the government will make renewed efforts to find a solution to the problem.

The talks that were held on Thursday ended with no conclusion. Some of the veterans even walked out of the meeting. A meeting held by Army Chief General Dalbir Singh too did not yield results.

The veterans are staging a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi and have decided to intensify their protest if there is no concrete decision soon.

Why were the talks inconclusive?

The veterans say that they are opposed to the idea that the government will increase the pensions every five years. While most of the issues have been sorted out, there are a few differences that need to be ironed out. The veterans have demanded that the pension hikes should be effected yearly, but the government says that it shall be done on a five year basis.

The government is however confident that it would iron out the differences. The government feels that the veterans should discontinue their hunger strike and even expressed displeasure that veterans had taken to the streets. The government says that they are committed to OROP but also add that the veterans should show some flexibility.

August 28 deadline:

The veterans who are on protest demanding OROP say that if the OROP is not implemented then they will intensify their protests. They say the 50th anniversary of the 1965 Pakistan war celebrations will be celebrated by the veterans at the Jantar Mantar and most of them have boycotted the government function.

The veterans had said that they would wait until the end of today for a positive decision on OROP. They had said yesterday that if no decision comes out by August 28th, then the protests would intensify. Already several more veterans have started joining the protest in Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.